This is probably one of my favorite Eddie Izzard comedy skits ever. Mostly because I love cake. Mmmm...cake. See Cake or Death here!
My love of cakes probably started as most people's do around their childhood friend's birthdays. I really didn't get to eat my first cake (that I remember) until around 2nd grade in Happy Hollow elementary school in W. Lafayette, Indiana. I remember being invited to a friend's birthday party - and at that time and age, everyone in the classroom was invited - and seeing my first birthday cake. It was decorated with white frosting and colorful icing and lettering. It may even have been a Disney Character...whatever it was I don't remember. But what I DO remember is that in the sickenly sweet frosting that covered the large rectangle of cake, was soft, lucious, sweet, airy cake.
I am one of those people that unless the frosting/icing is light to medium sweet buttercream or whipped cream icing, I scrape it all off. My sweet tolerance (for a cake lover) is low.
My mother was never a baking kind of person. She can make amazing food but she doesn't really do the whole baking cookies and cakes and tarts thing. That is - as Austin Powers would say - not her bag, baby. So for me, I could only really get cake at birthday parties and every now and then, Jewel-Osco (a Grocery store chain) when I really whined.
I started baking when I was in High School. I knew that other people's parents baked and figured that I could do it too. I begged and pleaded with my parents to buy me a Betty Crocker cookbook. In fact I probably still have it some where at my parents house. Anyways, Betty Crocker cookbook showed me all the cakes and candies that I could be making. I made a yellow cake as my first cake, followed by a sponge cake, and then I progressed onto caramels and toffees after my parents complained cakes were fattening. An addition of a very old old Muffins/breads/and baked goods book ignited me into making bagels, croissants, and challah bread from scratch.
Cake was still one of my favorites. But only if I put in half the sugar that the recipe asked for - I found that out quickly. :)
Then came the cupcakes. It seemed perfect - mini cakes and are easy to hold and that you didn't need a fork to eat! I started baking those in College once I moved out of my parents house I believe. mmm.
I'm happy with the addition of the new gourmet cupcakes shops that are springing up all over Chicago (my home town) and London (my host town). While a lot of them are delicious, some of them are really just really bad cake topped with way too colorful and too sweet icing.
Favorites in London:
Crumbs and Doilies - Lovely flavors and nice people!
Bea's of Bloomsbury - known for their infamous Cookie Monster cupcake!
Hummingbird Bakery - Lucious red velvet with cream cheese icing
I have this thought that when i retire, that I would open up a cafe/cupcake bakery that is attached to an independent bookshop. We'll see how well it works.
(Found on a fanpop website)So cute!!!
So yes...cake. Who doesn't love it!
